Renowned for their commitment to delivering high-quality education, The University of West London (UWL) pride themselves on their close link to employment opportunities. 

With state-of-the-art training facilities, modern leisure facilities and generous study spaces, it is clear why the university ranks in the top 30% of universities nationwide according to The Guardian University Guide 2024.

Driven by a mission to empower students with the knowledge and practical skills essential for thriving in their chosen professions, UWL's achievements are underpinned by dynamic growth following a significant investment of £150m across three campus sites.

Our longstanding relationship with UWL began when they came to us wanting a captivating website for prospective students that could effectively show their diverse range of opportunities. Given that a significant portion of their target audience was the first to attend university in their family, UWL wanted to create a platform that provided clear guidance through the application process. 

With substantial investment in their campus made, UWL wanted their website to exude the same level of excellence and assert themselves as a fierce competitor using their digital presence. 

However, with the deadline for the new student recruitment cycle fast approaching, our collaboration with UWL's digital team was vital. Together, we created an intensive project roadmap laying the foundation for the first phase of UWL's long-term digital strategy.

Our comprehensive discovery phase was the base of UWL's digital strategy, allowing us to define prospective students' requirements. From here, we began the major migration and rebuild of UWL's digital presence.

The existing Drupal site meant site managers were restricted by several challenges, from poor information architecture to complicated course pages and duplicate content damaging SEO. Working closely with UWL's internal team, our developers and designers transitioned the website to the latest version of Drupal.

Since the initial migration, our partnership with UWL has remained strong. We've worked on multiple upgrades of their website, ensuring it consistently reflects UWL's commitment to excellence. Our hosting and support services have always provided support to UWL, both during upgrades and as routine maintenance. UWL has continued to work with us to enhance their website further, utilising our Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) expertise to convert potential students into applicants.

Discovery:

We gained insights into the diverse user groups visiting the UWL website through an extensive discovery process. This included user interviews, stakeholder engagement, experience mapping, persona development, business and competitor analysis, and thorough data evaluation. This deep understanding enabled us to create a design that effectively communicates the opportunities available at UWL in a way that resonates with users.

Information Architecture:

After reviewing the website, our UX team identified that the search structure caused user frustration, given the vast amount of complex content. To solve this, we introduced two information architecture research methods: Tree Testing and Card Sorting. These tests provided invaluable insights into the mental models of the website's audience, which we further validated through data analysis from Google Analytics. The new structure showed a 71% increase in success rates, confirming that we were enhancing user experience.

Prototyping:

From the discovery phase, we turned the insights into wireframe prototypes, which underwent two rounds of usability testing. These tests identified friction areas, such as revising content hierarchy to prioritise valuable features. We enabled stakeholder buy-in and reduced subjective misunderstandings by validating our designs through usability testing.

Homepage and Coursepages:

Recognising the homepage as the main entrance point for 65% of total visits, we optimised it for swift access to information, particularly course pages. Implementing changes informed by user testing, we enhanced the course pages by prioritising key selling points and improving content presentation. We merged course variations into one URL to improve search engine ranking and incorporated filtering options for enhanced user experience.

Read more on our UX and strategy work in our Digital Strategy case study.

Living Style Guide:

Given that UWL was a content-heavy website, we proposed a new approach to working with Drupal during our redesign roadmap. This solution would ensure consistency across all design updates, present and future, and enhance the usability for staff.

To achieve this, we utilised a living style guide known as Pattern Lab. This tool allowed us to implement a component-based design and assemble elements into blocks with the living style guide. This was then integrated with Drupal, enabling automatic updates and consistent display across the website. Our work here meant that UWL's brand image was safeguarded as all brand assets were centralised into one accessible location.

Performance:

Since we aimed to deliver a high-speed, intuitive experience for staff and users, we implemented a mobile-first website for UWL. We used best practice development techniques to ensure quick-load pages with content prioritisation. 

The tight deadline fuelled our close collaboration with the UWL team, providing them with early access to the CMS and comprehensive training. Our efforts meant that we could swiftly provide a seamless transition and a smooth launch together.

Drupal Migration:

Upgrading the UWL website was a strategic decision to future-proof their digital presence. Our approach meant that we could prioritise key sections for migration whilst leaving some sections to continue in the current Drupal installation, enabling them to coexist. This meant we could ensure a smoother transition with minimised disruption, offering another solution that wasn't a complete rebuild. This solution also meant that when it came to an upgrade down the line, UWL would be in a better position, given that each update feeds into the next, eliminating the need for a complete rebuild within the next decade.

Technical SEO:

To address technical SEO considerations during the upgrade, we ensured no changes to the URL parameters were made, maintaining their search ranking and preventing confusion for users already familiar with the website. By capitalising on the differences between the two Drupal coexisting integrations directory structures and implementing a custom load balancer in AWS, we preserved search rankings and the familiarity of the website's structure. 

*15%+ increase in new users data taken from organic search performance Nov 2023 - Feb 2024 vs the previous preceding period.

Our build process for Drupal websites utilises core CMS features, community-built features and custom developments, reducing the need for extensive custom coding. Our commitment to excellence is evident in our ongoing partnership with UWL, working with them through multiple Drupal migrations. Our clear communication, efficient builds, and detailed audits ensure smooth transitions and success for our clients.

Read more details on our Drupal work with UWL, in our Drupal case study.

UWL has relied on our hosting and support services throughout their partnership with us. Currently, we are providing UWL with hosting, critical and reactive support, and ongoing enhancement services.

UWL has long entrusted us with ensuring their website's continuous operation through our hosting and support services.

Our critical support service ensures constant monitoring of their website, ensuring uninterrupted functionality. Our dedicated team of support technicians remains ready to address any alerts or issues raised by the UWL team.

UWL benefits from our reactive support, in which we swiftly address minor changes and fixes monthly, ensuring the seamless operation of their website.

We can stay on top of their priorities through regular communication and calls with the UWL team. This proactive approach allows us to strategise, evaluate, and uphold excellence for the UWL website, further boosting their reputation as an exemplary university.